t Hikers taking the walkway through the Paiva river valley
g The Beiras g Contents
! E2 ⌂ Start at Areinho or Espiunca # May–Sep: 9am– 8pm daily (to 6pm Apr, 5pm Oct–Mar) ∑ reservas.passadicosdopaiva.pt
t Hikers taking the walkway through the Paiva river valley
This 8.7-km (5.4-mile) walkway comprises a wooden boardwalk that weaves its way along the contours of the beautiful Paiva river valley. Parts of the trail are stepped and extremely steep, so it’s best to avoid the heat of the day. Public toilets are only to be found at Vau – the halfway point, where you can also take a dip in the river. The area is prone to summer fires and visitor numbers are restricted, so advance booking is essential. It’s best to start the walk from Areinho as the end point at Espiunca is largely downhill.
! D3 @ n Av da Barrinha; 924 473 751
This unspoilt stretch of coast is backed by a wooded reserve, the Mata Nacional das Dunas de Mira. Praia de Mira, with the dunes and Atlantic on one side and the peaceful lagoon of Barrinha de Mira on the other, is a pretty fishing village developing as a resort. Fishing boats are still drawn up the spectacular beach by oxen, but leisure craft now cruise the shore and inland waterways, and the fishermen’s striped palheiros, popular as seaside cottages, are fast vanishing amid bars and cafés.
The relatively flat coastline makes the area around Praia de Mira ideal for hiking and cycling. Visit the tourist office to pick up leaflets detailing the marked trails around local lakes and watermills. Our choice is the 25-km (15-mile) Pista Ciclo-Pedonal de Mira, which follows inland canals towards Aveiro via dunes, lakes and pine woods (www.cm-mira.pt/node/139).
! E2 @ n Rua Alfredo Vaz Pinto; 256 940 258
This small town in a green valley owes its main attraction, the great Mosteiro de Arouca, to its saintly royal benefactor, Mafalda. Princess Mafalda was born in 1195, the daughter of Sancho I. She was betrothed to the teenage Prince Enrique of Castile, but when he died in an accident, Mafalda took the veil in Arouca. Under her, the convent became Cistercian and Mafalda’s wealth and dedication made the house highly influential. She died in 1256, and her incorrupt corpse was discovered in 1616, leading to her beatification in 1793. For over a thousand years the convent has stood beside Arouca’s church on the cobbled main square. In the early 18th century the church underwent costly redecoration: 104 carved choir stalls are surmounted by paintings in sumptuous gilded panels, and the organ and chancel retable are also heavily gilded. Honoured with its own altar is a recumbent effigy of Santa Mafalda in a silver and ebony casket; her mummified remains lie below the casket.
Guided tours take visitors round the convent’s museum, in which are displayed some exquisite silver monstrances, furniture and religious works of art, including two paintings by 18th-century artist André Gonçalves, showing Mafalda saving the monastery from fire. The Neo-Classical double cloister, begun in 1781, the large refectory and kitchen, and a chapterhouse covered with cheerful Coimbra tiles of rural scenes can also be visited.
"' ⌂ Largo de Santa Mafalda § 256 943 321 # Tue–Sun ¢ Public hols
! E2 £ @ n Rua Elias Garcia; 256 572 215
This small town once earned its living from the Ria de Aveiro. Industry has arrived in the shape of foundries and steel mills, but oxen still plod along the roads. Gleaming tiles cover many of the small houses, as well as the twin-towered 17th-century Igreja Matriz in Avenida do Bom Reitor. In the town centre the Calvary chapel of the 18th-century Capela dos Passos is adorned with wood car-vings carrying a shell motif. Tableaux in the Museu de Ovar recreate the lifestyle of a bygone era, alongside displays of regional costume and dolls.
Located 6.5 km (4 miles) from Ovar, the church at Válega makes a rewarding visit. Its façade is a masterpiece of azulejos.
t Eye-catching church decorated with azulejos at Válega, near Ovar
" ⌂ Rua Heliodoro Salgado 11 § 256 572 822 # Tue–Sat ¢ Public hols
! D3 £ @ n Avenida 25 de Abril; 233 422 610
Lively and cosmopolitan, this popular resort has a busy marina, a casino and a wide, curving beach with breakers that attract surfers.
The town is not just a playground for holiday-makers, however, and the Museu Municipal Dr Santos Rocha has archaeological artifacts, and an eclectic display from Arraiolos carpets and religious art to Indo-Portuguese furniture.
⌂ Rua Calouste Gulbenkian § 233 402 840 # Jul & Aug: 9:30am–6pm Tue–Fri, 2–7pm Sat & Sun; Sep–Jun 9:30am–5pm Tue–Fri, 2–7pm Sat ¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 25 Dec
Hidden Gem
From Figeuira da Foz, it’s a short drive to the Parque Florestal da Serra da Boa Viagem. This beautiful wooded hilltop reserve offers woodland walks and picnic and children’s play areas, as well as the Parque Aventura – a high-rope adventure course with zip wires.
! D3 @ n Castelo de Montemor-o-Velho; 239 680 380
t A bell tower on the castle walls at Montemor-o-Velho
This attractive and historic hillside town rises out of fields of rice and maize beside the Mondego river. Its castle, which served as a primary defence of the city of Coimbra is mostly 14th century, but it had previously been a Moorish stronghold, and the keep has fragments of Roman stonework. The church of Santa Maria de Alcaçova within its walls was founded in 1090. Restored in the 15th century, its naves and arches reflect the Manueline style.
Montemor was the birthplace of Fernão Mendes Pinto (1510–83), famous for his colourful accounts of his travels in the east. Another explorer, Diogo de Azambuja (died 1518), is buried here. Columbus is said to have sailed with Azambuja, who intrepidly navigated along the West African coast. His tomb, by the Manueline master Diogo Pires, is in the Convento de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos in the square of the same name (the tourist office keeps the key). Its 17th-century façade hides an earlier, more lavish interior, with Manueline and Renaissance influences.
! E3 £ @ n Rua João Luso; 239 990 040
The paper factory at Lousã, on the forested banks of the Arouce river, was opened in 1716 and is still working. Skilled papermakers imported from Italy and Germany by the Marquês de Pombal brought prosperity, still evident in the handsome 18th-century houses. Most elegant of these is the Palácio dos Salazares, a private home located on Rua Viscondessa do Espinhal. Also notable is the Misericórdia, with a 1568 Renaissance portal, on Rua do Comércio.
Deep in a valley, just south of Lousã, is the Castelo de Arouce. Legend says it was built in the 11th century by a King Arunce, who took refuge in the valley when fleeing from raiders. To visit the castle, ask at the town hall. Near the castle are the three shrines of the Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Piedade.
The tortuous road south from here towards Castanheira de Pêra gives a splendid view across the valley. A turning east leads up to Alto do Trevim which, at 1,204 m (3,950 ft), is the highest point in the Serra de Lousã.
The village of Rabaçal, a few miles (6 km) west of Penela, is best known for its cheese of the same name. This regional speciality is made with a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk, which is aged for at least 20 days. Some villagers still mature the cheese rounds in darkened rooms in their homes.
! E3 @ n Largo do Município; 239 561 132
Penela’s thick-set castle was built in 1087 by Sisinando, governor of Coimbra, as part of the line of defences of the Mondego valley. Its squat towers provide wonderful views over the village and, to the east, of the wooded Serra da Lousã. The church within the castle walls, São Miguel, dates back to the 16th century. Below, in Penela itself, Santa Eufémia, dated 1551 above its decorative doorway, has a Roman capital used as a font.
! E3 ⌂ 2 km (1 mile) S of Condeixa-a-Nova § 239 941 177 (museum) @ From Coimbra # 10am–7pm daily ¢ 1 Jan, 1 May, Easter Sun, 25 Dec
This, the largest and most extensively excavated Roman site in Portugal, was on the Roman road between Lisbon (Olisipo) and Braga (Bracara Augusta). There is evidence of Roman habitation here as early as the 2nd century BC, but even before this time there was a Celtic settlement here. Under the Roman emperor Augustus, from about 25 BC, Conímbriga became a substantial town: baths, a forum and the aqueduct have been uncovered from this era. The finest buildings, however, date from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, and they provide a vivid image of a prosperous city.
The site is approached along a section of Roman road that led into the city from the east. Just to the left cluster the outlines of shops, baths and two once-luxurious houses, both with exquisite mosaic floors.
At Conímbriga is one of the largest houses discovered in the western Roman Empire. This opulent villa, known as the Casa de Cantaber, is built around ornamental pools in colonnaded gardens, with its own bath complex and a sophisticated heating system. Some of the fine mosaics in the museum probably came from this huge residence.
The Casa das Fontes, dating from the early 2nd century, is under a protective cover but walkways provide good views. Its mosaics and fountains, rare survivals which give the house its name, form a strong image of the Roman taste for good living. The city’s pools, and the baths and steam rooms of Trajan’s thermae, were fed by a spring 3.5 km (2 miles) away via a mostly subterranean aqueduct.
Official excavation was begun here in 1912, but a considerable part of the 13-ha (32-acre) site has yet to be explored, including an amphitheatre north of the city. In the 3rd or early 4th century, buildings were plundered for stone as defensive walls were hastily raised against barbarian hordes. In a successful assault in AD 468, the Suevi burned the city and murdered the inhabitants. Excavated skeletons may date from this episode.
An informative museum explains the history and layout of the site, and has exhibits of Roman busts, mosaics and coins alongside more ancient Celtic artifacts. There is also a restaurant and picnic site.
t Beautifully preserved central garden of Casa das Fontes in Conímbriga
! E3 @ n Rua Emídio Navarro 136; 231 939 133
In the 11th century, Luso was just a village linked to a monastery at Vacariça, but it developed into a lively spa town in the 18th century as its hot-water springs became a focus for tourism. The thermal waters, which originate from a spring below the Capela de São João, are thought to be of therapeutic value in the treatment of a wide range of conditions, ranging from bad circulation and improving muscle tone to renal problems and rheumatism.
There are a number of grand, if somewhat faded, hotels here, and an elegant Art Nouveau lobby adorns the former casino, but the main reason for visiting the resort is to enjoy its spa facilities. An additional attraction of Luso is the proximity of the treasured national forest of Buçaco, which is a powerful presence above the town.
Nestled between Luso and Curia, Mealhada is an attractive small town in the heart of a region famous for leitão, suckling pig. This enormously popular dish is prominently advertised at numerous hotly competing restaurants in the area.
Luso is one of the most popular brands of mineral water in Portugal.
! E3 @ n Avenida das Forças Armadas; 235 200 137
Tradition has it that this was a Roman city called Argos. In the 12th century, Dona Teresa, the mother of Afonso Henriques, gave the town to the bishopric of Coimbra, whose incumbent also acquired the title of Conde de Arganil. Most of the town’s architecture is unremarkable, but the church of São Gens, the Igreja Matriz in Rua de Visconde de Frias, dates back perhaps to the 14th century.
One of the most curious local sights is kept in the sanctuary of Mont’Alto, 3 km (2 miles) above the town. Here, the Capela do Senhor da Ladeira harbours the Menino Jesus, a Christ Child figure in a bicorne hat (part of a full wardrobe). He comes out for festas but the chapel key is otherwise available from the last house on the right.
! E3 @ n Casa da Cultura, Rua do Colégio; 238 609 269
These lands once belonged to the Knights Hospitallers, a gift in 1120 from the mother of Afonso Henriques. The 13th-century Igreja Matriz in Largo Ribeira do Amaral houses a magnificent reminder of the era of these warrior monks. One of the founders of the town, Domingues Joanes, is buried beside his wife in the Capela dos Ferreiros. His large tomb is surmounted by a charming equestrian statue.
Today, this lively industrial town is perfectly situated for exploring the valleys of the Mondego and the Alva.
At Lourosa, 12 km (7 miles) to the southwest of Oliveira do Hospital, the simple 10th-century church of São Pedro reflects the changing fate of Portugal over the centuries. A cemetery excavated beneath the church dates from the Roman era; the porch is Visigothic, while inside are ten impressive Roman arches and an ajimene (Moorish window).
t Statue in the church at Oliveira do Hospital
! E3 @ From Coja 20 km (12 miles) away n Largo Cónego Manuel Fernandes Nogueira; 235 732 787
The Serra de Açor (Hills of the Goshawk) is a place of bleak beauty, where solitary villages cling to precipitous terraces. Piódão is the most striking of these dark schist and slate hamlets. Seemingly remote, Piódão was, until the 1800s, on the main commercial route from Coimbra to Covilhã, but with newer roads the village was forgotten. But Piódão is coming back to life: houses are being repainted and the bright white Igreja Matriz once again stands out against the surrounding dark stone.
t The Village of Piódão, blending into the Serra de Açor
! E3 @ n Avenida Dr Jerónimo de Lacerda 750; 232 861 437
In a grassy rolling serra west of Viseu, this small town was once, with its clear mountain air, a centre for sanatoria. It is better known today for two very disparate museums.
In the Museu do Caramulo, the exhibits range from 16thcentury Flemish tapestries, porcelain, silver and ivory to Egyptian bronzes from 1580 to 900 BC. The paintings are as varied: from Portuguese primitives to the 20th century. One of Picasso’s still lifes was donated by the artist in 1947.
The collection in the Museu do Automóvel is just as eclectic: Bugattis and Rolls-Royces, and a bulletproof 1938 Mercedes-Benz ordered for Salazar when he was prime minister but never used.
" ⌂ Caramulo § 232 861 270 # 10am–1pm, 2–6pm Tue–Sun (to 5pm Oct–Mar) ¢ 1 Jan, Easter Sun, 24 & 25 Dec
! E3 @ n Casa do Adro, Adro da Sé; 232 420 950
t Woman resting in the cloisters, Viseu cathedral
The centre of the Dão wine-growing region, this city is also packed with history. On the western side of this regional capital’s old town is the striking 15th-century Porta do Soar de Cima, a remnant of the original walls. In the Rossio, the main square, the 1887 town hall on the west side has a grand stairway and azulejos relating the history of Viseu.
Viseu’s Sé, the town's cathedral, still retains a few Romanesque features, but it has been altered over the centuries in a variety of styles. The façade is a 17th-century replacement of a Manueline frontage that fell down in 1635. Inside, the vaulted roof is supported by 16th-century knotted ribs on 13th-century columns. In the north chapel are fine azulejos from the 18th century, while those in the two-storey cloister date from a century earlier. The cathedral’s treasury, housed in the chapterhouse, includes a 12th-century Gospel and a 13th-century Limoges coffer.
In the 16th-century former bishop’s palace abutting the cathedral is the Museu de Grão Vasco, exhibiting the paintings of Vasco Fernandes (c 1475–1540) and his fellow artists of the Viseu School. On the top floor are the masterpieces that once adorned the cathedral’s chancel altarpiece, including Grão Vasco’s monumental St Peter.
⌂ Largo da Sé § 232 436 065 # 9am–noon, 2–5:15pm daily
" ⌂ Largo da Sé § 232 422 049 # 10am–6pm Tue–Sun (from 2pm Tue) ¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 24 & 25 Dec
Experience The Beiras
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DRINK Paço dos Cunhas de Santar The Dão valley is best known for its quality wines. You can visit many of the estates on the Rota do Vinho do Dão (www.rotavinhosdao.pt), which has its headquarters in Viseu. A good place to head is the pretty village of Santar, home to Paço dos Cunhas de Santar, a restored mansion offering wine workshops and tastings. E3 ⌂ Largo do Paço de Santar, Santar § 914 832 901 ¢ Mon |
The local Serra cheese – made from ewe’s milk – is at its tastiest when it turns runny.
! F2 @ n Town hall; 254 550 030
t The castle perched on rocks at Penedono, near Sernancelhe
Whitewashed houses cluster around the granite heart of this modest Beira town. In Praça da República stands the Romanesque Igreja Matriz. The granite statues in its façade niches, survivors from the 12th century, flank a notable arched portal embellished by a semicircle of carved angels. The grandest house here is the Baroque Solar dos Carvalhos behind the church. Long and low, with carved granite portals against whitewashed walls, it is where the local noble family lived in the 18th century.
In the Serra da Lapa rising to the south of Sernancelhe, stands a shrine known as the Santuário da Nossa Senhora da Lapa. The story tells of a mute shepherd girl, Joana, who found a statue of the Virgin Mary on a great boulder and took it home. Irritated, her mother threw it on the fire, at which moment the child miraculously spoke: “Don’t burn it,” cried Joana. “It is the Senhora da Lapa.” A chapel was built to enshrine the boulder, and the image looks down from a recess.
The castle at Penedono is captivating. In the middle of this small town 17 km (11 miles) northeast of Sernancelhe, it has survived since at least the 10th century.
⌂ Quintela da Lapa, 11 km (7 miles) SW of Sernancelhe § 232 688 993 # Daily
! F3 £ @ n Rua Sacadura Cabral; 271 742 109
In the lee of the Serra da Estrela, the pastures around Celorico da Beira have long been a source of the region’s famous Serra cheese. From November to February a cheese market is held in the Praça Municipal, and there is a cheese fair every February. Around Rua Fernão Pacheco, running from the main road up to the castle, is the old centre of Celorico, which is manifested in a cluster of granite houses with Manueline windows and Gothic doors.
Of the 10th-century castle, battered by a long succession of frontier disputes with Spain, only a tower and the outer walls remain. Its stark silhouette is less dramatic at close quarters. The Igreja Matriz, which was restored in the 18th century, has a painted coffered ceiling. During the Peninsular War, the church served briefly as a makeshift hospital for the English forces.
Insider Tip
Explore Marialva, 14 km (9 miles) northeast of Trancoso – an eerily abandoned village where tumbledown ruins of the houses, hall and prison are all that remain of the medieval citadel. It is a mystery why the area was deserted. No battle destroyed it; it seems merely to have been abandoned as townsfolk moved to more fruitful lands.
! F2 @ n Avenida Heróis de São Marcos 2; 271 811 147
When King Dinis married Isabel here in 1283, he gave her Trancoso as a wedding gift. He was also responsible for the walls that still encircle the town and, in 1304, established here the first unrestricted fair in Portugal. Left in peace after 1385, the town became a lively commercial centre. Trancoso once had a large Jewish population; in the old Jewish quarter, houses survive with one broad and one narrow door, separating domestic life from commerce.
From the southern gate, Rua da Corredoura leads to São Pedro, restored after 1720. A tombstone in the church commemorates Gonçalo Anes, a local shoemaker who, in the 1580s, wrote the celebrated Trovas under the name of Bandarra. These stories prophesied the return of the young King Sebastião.
t A typical narrow street in the peaceful walled town of Trancoso
! F2 @ n Portas de São Francisco; 271 570 020
Formidable defences in the form of a 12-pointed star guard this small, delightfully preserved border town.
Almeida was recognized by Spain as Portuguese territory under the Alcañices Treaty on 12 September 1297, but this did not stop further incursions. The present Vauban-style stronghold was designed in 1641 by Antoine Deville after Spain’s Philip IV, in post-Restoration rage, destroyed the earlier defences protecting the town and its castle.
From 1742 to 1743 Almeida was in Spanish hands again, and then during the Peninsular War was held in turn by the French under Masséna and the British under the Duke of Wellington. In 1810, a French shell lit a powder trail that destroyed the castle.
To breach the town’s fortifications, cross a bridge and pass through a tunnel. The underground soldiers’ barracks, can be visited and an armoury in the main gateway, the Portas de São Francisco, holds further mementoes of Almeida’s military past. A walk around the grassy walls gives rewarding views of the town.
Experience The Beiras
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EAT A Taberna Cosy and rustic, this lovely eatery serves the likes of roast goat and bacalhau, which are cooked in the wood-fired oven. ! E3 ⌂ Rua dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra 86, Coimbra ¢ Sun D, Mon L ∑ restauranteataberna.com ¡¡ ¡ O Cortiço A traditional restaurant serving a good range of tapas and hearty meat dishes, including duck with rice, which is best eaten with a Dão wine. ! E3 ⌂ Rua Augusto Hilário 45, Viseu § 916 461 576 ¢ Sun D, Mon ¡ ¡¡ |
! F3 £ @ n Praça Luís de Camões; 271 205 530
Spread over a bleak hill on the northeast flank of the Serra da Estrela, Guarda is the country’s highest city, at 1,056 m (3,465 ft). Founded in 1199 by Sancho I, the city’s original role as frontier guard explains its name and its rather forbidding countenance. Some of its arcaded streets and squares are lively, but the fortress-like Sé, with its flying buttresses, pinnacles and gargoyles, could never be described as lovely. Master architects who worked on the cathedral, begun in 1390 and completed in 1540, included Diogo Boitac (from 1504 to 1517) and the builders of Batalha. The interior, by contrast, is light and graceful. The 100 carved figures high on the altarpiece in the chancel were worked by Jean de Rouen in 1552.
Set out over two floors, the Museu da Guarda takes you on a trip through the history of the region from prehistory to the present day. On display are paintings, archaeological discoveries and a section on the city’s own poet, Augusto Gil (1873–1929).
From the cathedral square, Rua do Comércio leads down to the 17th-century Misericórdia church. Inside the ornamental portal are Baroque altars and pulpits. Just north of the cathedral, in the historic town centre, is the 18th-century church of São Vicente, which has 16 elaborate azulejo panels depicting the life of Christ.
Guarda used to support a thriving Jewish community, which was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. History records that João I, on a visit to Guarda, was smitten by Inês Fernandes, the beautiful daughter of a Jewish shoemaker. From their liaison a son, Afonso, was born. In 1442 the title of first Duke of Bragança was bestowed on Afonso, and 200 years later his descendant would take the throne as João IV, first of the Bragança monarchs.
t Pedestrianized street close to the cathedral in Guarda
" ⌂ Rua Alves Roçadas 30 § 271 213 460 # 10am–6pm Tue–Sun ¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 25 Dec
The Portuguese named Brazil after the wood that they found there – Brasil.
! F3 £ @ n Castelo de Belmonte; 275 911 488
Belmonte was for generations the fiefdom of the heroic Cabral family. Pedro Álvares Cabral, the first navigator to land in Brazil, had forebears who fought at Ceuta and Aljubarrota. Fernão, an earlier ancestor, was famed for his feats of strength. The family crest, incorporating a goat (cabra), can be seen in the castle and adjacent chapel. The castle, begun in 1266, retains its keep and a Manueline window added later. The little church of São Tiago nearby has preserved its Romanesque simplicity: the frescoes above the altar and, in a tiny side chapel, a granite pietà date from the 13th century. Beside the church is the 15th-century Capela dos Cabrais which holds the Cabral family tombs.
The modern Igreja da Sagrada Família (1940) is the repository for a treasured statue of Nossa Senhora da Esperança said to have accompanied Cabral on his voyage to Brazil. The Museu Judaico de Belmonte charts the development of the Jewish community in the region.
Northeast of Belmonte is the Roman Centum Cellas, also called Torre de Colmeal. It is not known what the role of this square, three-storeyed structure was – maybe a hostel or military base, a mansion or a temple.
t Statue of navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, associated with Belmonte
⌂ Rua da Portela 4 § 275 088 698 # Tue–Sun
! F3 @ n Inside the castle; 271 750 080
In 1296, when this small town beside the Côa river was confirmed as Portuguese in the Treaty of Alcañices, the castle was refortified by the ever-industrious King Dinis. Its imposing towered walls and unusual five-sided keep survive from this era, although the castle suffered in peacetime from villagers raiding it for building stone.
Peopled since prehistoric times, Sabugal still has part of its medieval walls, reinforced in the 17th century and now ringed by newer houses. In the Praça da República stands a granite clock tower, reconstructed in the 17th century.
! F3 ⌂ 20 km (12 miles) west of Sabugal
t The stunning village of Sortelha, watched over by its castle
Wrapped in its ring of walls, Sortelha is enchanting. This beautifully preserved town sits on a granite outcrop and the views from the high keep of its gem of a 13th-century castle are stunning.
The castle has several Manueline features, including the coat of arms of Manuel I and armillary spheres. Parts of its walls were blown up by Napoleon’s troops but later rebuilt.
In front of the castle entrance is a 16th-century pillory with an armillary sphere on top. In the tiny citadel are a school and stony lanes of granite houses. Sortelha’s old town is a short walk or drive from a newer town where you will find shops and restaurants.
The local fondness for bullfights is reflected in names of nearby villages such as Vila do Touro. In a local variation of the controversial sport, the capeia, bulls were taunted into charging into a huge fork of branches.
Experience The Beiras
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stay Casa da Lagariça Accommodation in one of Sortelha’s attractive old stone houses, this 18th-century former grape store now offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. ! F3 ⌂ Calçada de Santo Antão 11, Sortelha ∑ casalagarica.com ¡ ¡¡ Solar de Alarcão This 17th-century manor house, with a serene atmosphere and filled with antiques, is right in the heart of Guarda, near the cathedral. ! F3 ⌂ Rua Dr Miguel de Alarcão 25–27, Guarda ∑ solardealarcao.pt ¡ ¡¡ |
! F3 £ @ n Largo Tenente Coronel Júlio R Silva; 277 394 106
Fought over by successive waves of Romans, Visigoths and Moors, this frontier town was fortified in the 12th century by Gualdim Pais, Master of the Knights Templar. Today the weatherbeaten castle walls rise above a quiet town at the heart of hardy, sparsely inhabited country where the main attraction is hunting.
From the main square, the road up to the old town passes beside the former town hall, built over a medieval archway. Beyond lie the restored castle keep and the 16th-century Igreja da Misericórdia, with an elegant Manueline portal capped by armillary spheres, the emblem of Manuel I.
! F3 @ n Rua Marquês da Graciosal; 277 314 642
t Monsanto’s houses, drawfed by immense granite boulders
An odd fame hit Monsanto in 1938 when it was voted “most Portuguese village in Portugal”. The village is at one with the granite hillside on which it perches: its lanes blend into the grey rock, the houses squeezed between massive boulders. Tiny gardens sprout from the granite and dogs drink from granite bowls.
The ruined castle began as a castro, a Lusitanian fortified settlement, and suffered a long history of sieges and battles for its commanding position. It was finally destroyed by a 19th-century gunpowder explosion. Cars cannot go beyond the village centre, but the view alone is worth the walk up to the ruined walls.
! F3 @ n Rua da Sé; 277 914 280
This modest hamlet among the olive groves encapsulates the history of Portugal. Signposts in Portuguese, French and English guide visitors round the landmarks of this fascinating living museum.
Idanha-a-Velha was, it is said, the birthplace of the Visigothic King Wamba, and had its own bishop until 1199. The present appearance of the cathedral comes from early 16th-century restor-ation, but in the echoing interior are stacked inscribed and sculpted Roman stones.
In the middle of the village is a 17th-century pillory, the Renaissance Igreja Matriz and a ruined Torre dos Templários, a relic of the Templars. This order of religious knights held sway in Idanha until the 14th century.
Hidden Gem
The Reserva Natural da Serra da Malcata around Penamacor, offers 20 sq km (8 sq miles) of wilderness. The reserve shelters wolves, otters and, most importantly, the Iberian lynx.
! F4 £ @ n Avenida Nuno Alvares 30; 272 330 339
This handsome, busy old city, overlooked by the vestiges of a Templar castle, is the most important in the Beira Baixa.
The greatest attraction is the Jardim Episcopal beside the former bishop’s palace. Created by Bishop João de Mendonça in the 18th century, the garden’s layout is conventionally formal; its individuality lies in its dense population of statues. Baroque in style and often bizarre in character, stone saints and Apostles line the box-edged paths, lions peer at their reflections in pools and monarchs stand guard along the grand balustrades – the hated kings of the 60-year Spanish rule conspicuously half-size.
The 17th-century Paço Episcopal itself now houses the Museu Francisco Tavares Proença Júnior. Its wide-ranging collection includes archaeological finds, displays of 16th-century tapestries and Portuguese primitive art. Castelo Branco is also well known for its fine silk-embroidered bedspreads, called colchas, and examples of these are also exhibited in the museum.
Housed in two buildings (one old and one modern), the popular Museu Cargaleiro has a remarkable collection of rare paintings, tapestries and ceramics, donated by the Manuel Cargaleiro Foundation. Beside the road back towards the town centre stands a 15th-century cross known as the Cruzeiro de São João.
t Decorative pool in the Jardim Episcopal, Castelo Branco
" ⌂ Rua Bartolomeu da Costa # Daily
" ⌂ Largo Doutor José Lopes Dias § 272 344 277 # 10am–1pm, 2–6pm Tue–Sun ¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 1 May, 25 Dec
" ⌂ Rua dos Cavaleiros 23 § 272 337 394 # 10am–1pm, 2–6pm Tue–Sun ¢ 1 Jan, Easter, 25 Apr, 1 May, 25 Dec
Experience The Beiras
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EAT Dom Sancho I The open fireplace at this stone-walled restaurant in the old town is warm and welcoming. The menu includes local delicacies such as hare with rice, rabbit and wild boar. ! F3 ⌂ Largo do Corro, Sortelha § 271 388 267 ¢ Sun D, Mon ¡¡ ¡ Pousada do Convento de Belmonte A beautiful restaurant with original stone features and wonderful mountain views. The gourmet dishes on the tasting and à la carte menus are equally impressive. ! F3 ⌂ Serra da Esperança, Belmonte ∑ conventodebelmonte.pt ¡¡¡ |